“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.” – John 11:5-6
There will be times when we pray that we’ll struggle to understand why God doesn’t answer immediately, doesn’t answer in the way we desire, or doesn’t seem to answer at all. Here we can learn from the story of Lazarus and his sisters. Hearing that His beloved friend Lazarus was sick, Jesus waited to go to him. He waited until Lazarus died and Mary and Martha mourned for their brother.
Jesus waited, because He had something better and more important planned for everyone involved and the entire world. He waited and permitted Lazarus to die so that He could bring Him back to life and prove to the world the truth of John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live”. Because Jesus waited, we who believe in Him have confidence that after we die we will indeed live forever!
The delay was brutally painful for this family to bear, just as the tragedy and suffering we see around us in this fallen world is often painful to bear. And so we wonder why Christ delays and God seems not to hear our pleas. In truth, Christ’s Spirit is here with us at all times and God hears every request. But they know that the best is yet to come and they answer our prayers in light of an eternal perspective and in the way that is best for us and the world. That’s can be hard to understand but we must trust that God knows far better than we what is truly best.